We are getting very close to the playoffs and a number of goalies are showing that they're near the top of their games at this critical juncture. A few others are struggling, which doesn't bode well for their playoff-hopeful teams.
Risers
Jakub Dobes 
Montreal Canadiens
Dobes has emerged as the clear top option among the three goalies on the Canadiens roster over the past two weeks. He has won four of his last five starts and allowed a total of only seven goals out of 168 shots (.958 save percentage). He's now up to 26 wins out of 38 appearances on the season. The Canadiens have been waiting for someone to build his case as the tog dog and rise above the others in a season-long battle in goal, which until recently was not yielding impressive results. Now, Dobes has put his stamp on the No. 1 role.
Logan Thompson 
Washington Capitals
The Caps are in the thick of a challenging race for one of the wildcard spots in the Eastern Conference and are leaning heavily on Thompson in goal. He's started eight straight games, earning five wins along the way. He had a string of five quality starts in that period but has given up four goals in each of his last three outings, though he did records wins in each of those starts. He's season-long stats are among the league leaders as he's now sporting a 2.46 goals against average and a .912 save percentage over 53 appearances (third in the league).
Jeremy Swayman 
Boston Bruins
Swayman has been the centerpiece of the Bruins somewhat surprising effort to remain in contention for a playoff spot this season, while they have conducted a significant retooling of their roster at the same time. He's won four of his last five starts and limited the damage to 12 goals in the face of 16 shots (.925 save percentage). He simply seems more comfortable and confident this season as the unchallenged No. 1 goalie in Beantown, as he's got a very impressive 30-15-4 record across 50 appearances. That win total already represents a career high for him.
Ilya Sorokin 
New York Islanders
Earlier this season, we had touted Sorokin as a possible contender for the Vezina Trophy and he has continued to deliver solid efforts recently, with one exception (seven goals against in a blowout loss versus the Penguins). Outside of that game, he's recorded three wins and five quality starts, over his last six appearances. He is once again one the busiest netminders with 50 starts already in his stats line. That's the fifth season in a row in which he's reached that plateau. His profile gives the Isles an edge in goal, as they are poised to compete with their Metropolitan Division rivals in the early rounds of the postseason.
Connor Ingram 
Edmonton Oilers
A tumultuous season for Oilers goalies opened the door for Ingram, who began this campaign with Bakersfield (AHL). Edmonton represents the fourth NHL club he's played for during the past five seasons, qualifying him as a journeyman. Out of exasperation with the subpar efforts of Tristan Jarry and Calvin Pickard, the Oilers called up Ingram in midseason, and he's played the lion's share of games since then. Over his last five appearances he's recorded three wins and posted a .906 save percentage, stopping 126 of 139 shots on goal. Right now, he is in line for the majority of game starts over the remaining schedule and he should be the starter in the playoffs.
Karel Vejmelka 
Utah Jazz
Vejmelka currently ranks as the league's busiest goalie, with 57 starts to date. He'd shown the capability to handle lots of work earlier in his career and will tie his personal best with his next appearance, but the exciting aspect for him is that he's likely to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. He's on a nice roll recently with three wins over his last four starts, including three quality performances.
Fallers
Alex Nedeljkovic 
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have started Nedeljkovic in six of their last seven games. He posted save percentages of less than .867 in four of them. That's not good at the best of times, but the offense has dried up considerably in that stretch, leaving little room for error in goal. This represents the longest run of games for the veteran this season, at a time where management had decided that their young starter, Yaroslav Askarov needed some time to reset himself after his own recent rough patch. We expect that the youngster, who was back in goal in the Sharks' last game (allowing four goals on 26 shots), will be given a chance string a few games together at this critical juncture.
Joey Daccord 
Seattle Kraken
Seattle, like San Jose, has lost ground in the playoff hunt over the past two weeks. Daccord has been getting the larger share of goalie starts this season, but lost his three most recent starts, (albeit one in overtime) and has given way to Philipp Grubauer, who has responded with three quality starts, during which he allowed seven goals out of the 92 shots he faced (.924 save percentage). That performance should be good enough for him to get the majority of remaining games as long as he continues to play at this level.
Adin Hill 
Vegas Golden Knights
All season long, the Golden Knights have had plenty of struggles with the goalie position. Hill was expected to be their No. 1 option but was lost for two months early on. Since his return in mid-January, he has started the majority of games but just hasn't found his groove. That inconsistency has been very visible in his last five starts, in which his save percentage has been less than .870 in four of them. It's a trend that can't continue for a team with high hopes for a long playoff run.
